Dear Customer Service: Today I had a problem and called your help-line. I (like quite a few people) would prefer to solve the problem myself using your website, and I (like an increasing portion of the population) am perfectly competent to do so. Unfortunately, your web site does not have a solution to this particular problem, so I need to talk to a person. Imagine my dismay when, at three successive levels of telephone menu, I have to listen to lengthy exhortations on the wonderfulness of your Web site and on how it could solve my problem if I would go away and (please, please) not call you. If I could use the Web site, I wouldn’t be calling. This guarantees that by the time I eventually get through to a person, I will be irritated and prone to unfriendliness. As the proportion of people who are Web-connected and Web-competent increases, the cost-effectiveness of this kind of go-away message is going to fall. Please bear this in mind.
